Mirage IV (Wallpaper 1) aircraft photo gallery | AirSkyBuster

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Mirage IV (Wallpaper 1). Photo wallpaper gallery of Mirage IV supersonic strategic bomber aircraft 1. Mirage IV supersonic strategic bomber aircraft pictures and images collection 1. The Dassault Mirage IV is a French jet-propelled supersonic strategic bomber and deep-reconnaissance aircraft. For many years it was vital wing of the nuclear triad of the Force de Frappe, France's nuclear deterrent striking force. Work on a supersonic bomber able to carry a nuclear bomb started in France in 1956 as part of the development of France's independent nuclear deterrent. The final specifications, jointly defined by government authorities and Dassault staff, were approved on 20 March 1957. Dassault's resulting prototype, dubbed Mirage IV 01, looked a lot like the Mirage IIIA, even though it had double the wing surface, two engines instead of one, and twice the unladen weight. The Mirage IV also carried three times more internal fuel than the Mirage III. Photo wallpaper gallery of Mirage IV supersonic strategic bomber aircraft 1. Mirage IV supersonic strategic bomber aircraft pictures and images collection 1. The aircraft's aerodynamic features were very similar to the III's but required an entirely new structure and layout. The 01 was an experimental prototype built to explore and solve the problems stemming from prolonged supersonic flight. The sizable technological and operational uncertainties (no plane had yet been found able to cruise at over Mach 1.8 for long periods of time) were only one part of the problem. The weapon-related issues were the other. It took 18 months to build the 01 in Dassault's Saint-Cloud plant near Paris. In late 1958, the aircraft was transferred to the Melun-Villaroche flight testing area for finishing touches and ground tests. Roland Glavany took the 01 into the air for the first time on 17 June 1959.[1] For its third flight, on 20 June 1959, the 01 was authorized to fly over the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport in front of France's President Charles de Gaulle.[citation needed] On 19 September 1960, René Bigand upped the world record for speed on a 1000-kilometre closed circuit to 1,822 km/h (1,132 mph).[1] Flight 138, on 23 September, corroborated the initial performance and pushed the record on a 500-km closed circuit to an average of 1,972 km/h (1,225 mph), flying between Mach 2.08 and Mach 2.14. Photo wallpaper gallery of Mirage IV supersonic strategic bomber aircraft 1. Mirage IV supersonic strategic bomber aircraft pictures and images collection 1.